Thursday, 27 September 2012

There's a new (to me) range of early ECW - and they look very good and well researched - nothing generic in this selection. They look ideal for the battles of the first couple of years of war. Good luck with this range. Website here

Monday, 24 September 2012

This cordwainer is my favourite place to get quality historical footwear for all classes and both sexes. If I was to reenact the ECW again the first thing would be to order a pair of Sarah's shoes...they're a joy to own. She also does the 18thc btw.

By P Haythornthwaite. Illustrated by Jeffrey Burn. Time was back in the early 80s (published originally in 1983) this was the bible for searching about the ECW - I remember the first Wargames Foundry ECW figs followed this work a little too closely copying the errors. Still worth a look nowadays. Brings back a lot of memories for me - how about you? Read it online here

Sunday, 23 September 2012

If ever there was a movie needing the 'Director's cut' treatment it's this one. It had about 40 minutes hacked out of it as the troubles in Ireland made this element too inflammatory. Several cast members including Felix Aylmer finished up on the floor. Guardian reviewImdbWiki

Saturday, 22 September 2012

An English pikeman's helmet circa 1640/50Two piece skull with a low
rolled comb, surrounding lining rivets, and a plume socket riveted at
the nape. Broad brim with a turned under rim and surrounding lining
rivets. Height 18 cm. From here
Image search pikemen's pot (which is possibly my last word on the subject)

ENGLISH OR FLEMISH CIRCA 1630-40. From here
I'd like to see the ECW reenactment community make more of an effort to accurately reproduce pikemen's pots as the ones they use are a bit wrong - though this one is a bit pricey!

Thursday, 20 September 2012

Tuesday, 18 September 2012

One of the few depictions of a SYW redcoat is this one by Edward Penny - 'the Marquis of Grandy giving alms to a sick soldier'. Most of my reference for Brits in the SYW is on my Flintlock and Tomahawk blog. But gaiter wise the Brits were already in transition with reinforced with leather fronts.

Sunday, 16 September 2012

This is an exciting new venture from History in 1/72's creator Uwe where he commissions sculptors to produce unavailable periods and interests. Of interest to the timeline of the blog is the 1680s and 90s infantry - ideal for putting up against those Ottomans. Check it out here

This is a a good clip from a classic and original look at the ECW - it's up in its entirety and this is the intro which has a good battle scene to get you started; I think it featured the fresh faced English Civil War Society. The blurb reads:

Winstanley is the title of a film made in 1975 in the UK by Kevin Brownlow and Andrew Mollo, based on the 1961 David Caute novel Comrade Jacob.
This deals with some of the life story of the 17th Century social reformer and writer Gerrard Winstanley, who, along with a small band of followers known as the Diggers tried to establish a self-sufficient farming community on common land at St. George's Hill near Cobham, Surrey. This was one of the world's first socialistic living experiments which was copied elsewhere in England during the time of the Protectorate of Oliver Cromwell, but was quickly suppressed and in the end left only a legacy of ideas to inspire later generations of socialist theorists.
Great efforts were made to produce a film of high historical accuracy. Armour used was actual armour from the 1640s, borrowed from the Tower of London.[1][2] Real-life activist Sid Rawle played a Ranter (English Revolution period anarchist-type group).
The film was reissued on DVD and Blu-Ray[3] in 2009 by the British Film Institute (BFI) who funded the original projectIMDB here